By 2050 We’ll All Be Having Sex With Robots

September 30, 2015

A futurologist has declared that by 2050 humans having sex with robots will be more common than human-on-human sex. Two things strike me about this sentence. Firstly, is a futurologist an actual job? And secondly, just how plausible does this actually sound?

When you think about it, sex with robots isn’t a particularly big leap from things like blow-up dolls and vibrators. And, actually, a cursory Google search tells me that there are already a load of robots that you can actually have sex with(Oh god I can’t believe I actually googled ‘having sex with robots’ at work).

Credit: Zimbio.co.uk

Wait – we’ll actually be having sex with robots?

Apparently so. But these claims by futurologist Dr Ian Pearson go a step further. Among the many predictions include:

By 2030 most people will have some form of virtual sex as casually as they browse porn today

The sex market will be seven times bigger by 2050

High-income, wealthy households will start indulging in some forms of robot sex as early as 2025

Is it likely to happen? Your guess is really as good as mine. I’m not a futurologist. Yet. But Oculus Rift virtual reality tech is set to launch next year. And with its ability to make us feel like we’re actually somewhere else, surely it won’t be long before someone comes up with a sex reality…

It is kind of freaky though when you think about it. Will you be able to order personalised robots? Robots that look like celebs? Or your best mate? We’re not sure we really want to be around when this takes off.

Pearson’s claims are particularly well-timed. Just recently purchasers have been asked to do anything but having sex with robots. Pepper the ’emotional robot’ is capable of recognising feelings like anger, joy and sadness. And she’s also supposed to be a friendly, non-sexual companion to live alongside humans – which means that any form of sexual contact is out of the question. Completely. Sorry. Pepper purchasers even have to sign contracts with SoftBank, the company behind the robot, stating they won’t use her for sexual purposes.

I mean, how could you possibly defile something with this little face?

Credit: Yuya Shino/Reuters

“Pepper must not be used for sexual activity and actions for the purpose of indecent acts, or acts for the purpose of meeting and dating and making acquaintance of the opposite sex.” – SoftBank

As a side note, they also can’t use her to ‘stalk people.’ Which is kind of annoying. Because that’s probably the only reason I’d ever buy one.